Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Sublime Royaume by Yaa Gyasi

84 reviews

violerwolf's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Realistic fiction, especially as slow paced as the “plot” is in this book, isn’t typically my cup of tea. But Gyasi, through masterful prose and a constantly shifting timeline of events, makes this such an engaging story about addiction, depression, family, and religion. The way she interweaves themes through various points of the main character’s life and places them throughout the narrative is beautifully done. My one critique is that the main character’s internal reflection can be a bit heavy handed at times, but don’t let that stop you from checking this book out.

I picked up this book because Homegoing had such a long waitlist at my library, and I’m so glad I did. I can’t wait to read Gyasi’s other works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

gottheblues's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Racism and Sexism

ramreadsagain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A beautiful novel with gorgeous writing, and characters and events that leap from the page.

I particularly enjoyed the content about Gifty's research as well as her thoughts and struggles with the science:religion binary. While I very much fall on the science side, the emotional depth of the novel and the way it portrays how one can exist on a 'spectrum' of belief was incredibly well done.

I do not understand how such a relatively short novel could have managed to cover so many topics in such a profound way. I'm annoyed I put off reading this for so long, and I'm now excited to read Homegoing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Minor: Religious bigotry

siebensommer's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

my need to diy my mother‘s mental health 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Medical content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

laura_cat's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I wouldn’t have read this book if I had known about the evangelical Christianity and testing on animals themes. It simply was not enjoyable to read.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Racism, and Grief

pandact's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

   This book nailed my feelings with scientific precision, and Gyasi simultaneously leaves room for different kinds of faith. This reflective fine-tuning happened to be exactly what I was looking for, plus the slightly lonely and queer first-generation bildungsroman. I'd read a whole book where they dive into ethical and religious questions!

   I hope it's also impactful for others who read it, and it shares similar themes with Freshwater, Liturgists, Semler, and the X-files.

   Spoilers in tags

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, Medical content, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal cruelty and Child abuse

Also I thought the ending made sense, almost like when a documentary flashes forward before the credits. The mother still wrapped up the emotional arc better than I expected from getting it spoiled in reviews!

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

A beautiful and painful book that demands the reader's full attention. Gyasi doesn't lay things out A then B then C; instead, she gives us a puzzle of C then A then Q and trusts that we as readers are clever enough and paying enough attention to put the pieces together.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual content, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

dannythestreet's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Classism

Moderate: Eating disorder, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

megb64's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Suicide and Religious bigotry

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

silverrose187's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt